(Sports Network) - Both the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres have had disappointing 2008 seasons, but each has been playing quite well as of late. The two National League West members hope to keep up their recent rolls when they begin a three-game series tonight at Petco Park.

Colorado has closed within six games of slumping Arizona in the division race by winning nine of their last 12 contests. San Diego helped the Rockies out by taking three straight matchups from the Diamondbacks at Petco Park earlier this week.

The Padres completed the sweep with a furious late rally that resulted in a 5-4 victory on Wednesday. San Diego scored all five of its runs over its last two at-bats.

Chase Headley tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth and scored the go-ahead run on Jody Gerut's base hit later in the frame. Nick Hundley aided the comeback with a two-run homer in the seventh.

Gerut finished with three hits on the evening, while Hundley went 2-for-3 in the win.

Mike Adams (2-3) picked up the win with a scoreless top of the eighth, while Trevor Hoffman notched his 27th save by holding the Diamondbacks scoreless in the ninth.

Colorado had won four in a row before Wednesday's 4-1 loss at San Francisco, in which Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval smacked back-to-back solo homers in the seventh inning to put the Giants ahead.

Both blasts came against Rockies starter Livan Hernandez (1-3), the only runs the veteran allowed in 6 1/3 innings of work.

Chris Iannetta collected three hits for Colorado and Troy Tulowitzki knocked in the team's only run with an RBI single.

The loss was only the Rockies' second in their last 10 road games, although Colorado is still a lackluster 27-42 away from home on the season.

The Rockies will send out their ace in tonight's opener, with Aaron Cook aiming for his 16th victory of 2008. The sinker specialist has been struggling some this month, however, having amassed a 6.75 earned run average in four August starts along with a 1-2 record.

Cook was roughed up for six runs and 10 hits by the Padres in Denver during an 8-3 loss on August 9. He was a little better his most recent time out, permitting four runs (3 earned) and eight hits in a five-inning no-decision against Cincinnati on Saturday.

The 29-year-old did throw a five-hit shutout against San Diego on July 1 and owns an impressive 10-4 record with a 2.73 ERA in 19 lifetime games (17 starts) versus the Padres. Cook is also 4-1 with an excellent 1.50 ERA in six career starts at Petco Park.

Dirk Hayhurst will make his second major league start for the Padres tonight. The 27-year-old pitched four innings in a no-decision at San Francisco last Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and walking two.

An eighth-round selection by the Padres in the 2003 draft, Hayhurst was called up from Triple-A Portland last week after San Diego traded Greg Maddux to the Dodgers. He pitched primarily in relief for the Beavers and posted a 2-3 record with a 3.75 ERA in 46 games, two of which were starts.

These divisional foes have split 12 meetings so far in 2008, as well as six matchups having taken place in San Diego this season.